Growing 2 month old, active 2 year old, losing weight, gaining business!

We blessed Malcom at church a couple weeks ago!

Today is Malcom's  2 month birthday! He is such a great little baby. Doug was gone all last week in Salt Lake City for some training for work and it was really hard for me. But, every time things got really crazy with Vivi (which they did often) or I missed Doug, I could just look at my little guy and everything felt better. He's like my own personal Prozac...he just makes me feel better! Now that he is smiling and cooing more, including every time I change his diaper (I think he smiles out of appreciation of a clean bum), my heart just grows. I work so hard to get him to smile (because he's so darn cute when he does) that my cheeks hurt!

Mac still eats about every 2 hours except for a couple longer stretches throughout the day. He does pretty good some nights, lasting as long as 4-6 hours, but that's only as long as he's in bed with me. I think we will start putting him in his crib and sleep training around 3 months. Although, I do love my snuggle buddy.

they are buddies!

Vivi is still great with him. She always wants to bounce him in his chair, which gets a little too rough sometimes, but she's pretty good most of the time. She always wants to hold him. She makes  a big deal out of it when he poops because she likes to help 'change' his diaper. And Malcom returns the favor by smiling when he sees her (and can focus on her); they love each other. But, if you ask Vivi if she loves her brother, she just rolls her eyes, sticks out her hands and says 'I dunno.' But she does :)

Vivi is just blossoming. We signed her up for gymnastics once per week as a way for her to get out some of her physical energy and she loves it! They get to play on lots of equipment and just have fun. And she's a natural, if I do say so myself. That girls is just fearless. She keeps trying to do the balance beam without my help (she says 'Mommy, self. I do it self'), falls off, sometimes gets hurt, but then jumps right back on. Today was her first day back at 'school' which is actually the Shoreline School District's free 'Play and Learn' program that we started going to in January last year. It's amazing the difference a couple months can make. Without clinging to my leg once, she just went to the downstairs play area with her friend Wyatt (an older boy who she quite likes...or at least tolerates), she played by herself, and did circle time without me coaching her. I only had to pull her away from the stupid water fountain a few times (my nemesis last year since she always wanted to play in the sink. She still yelled at a couple kids (mostly one little boy named Lucas...poor kid), but she's improving.

We've started a family Biggest Loser and I'm pretty excited. I lost 20 lbs before the competition started, but I still have 20 lbs to go. I want to get back to my pre-baby weight before the end of the year and I think I can...I just have to be careful so I don't lose my milk because I want to nurse Malcom quite a bit longer. That could be tricky.

In addition to watching Malcom grow into happy boy, helping Vivi direct her energy into positive outlets, losing weight, and...just keep everyone alive, I've started a new business venture! I want to use my education (Journalism degree) and experience (PR, marketing) to help smaller businesses with their marketing, specifically written content. I loved writing all the content for the Skagit Valley Family YMCA web site and worked on the Port of Everett redesign, too. A lot of web developers don't offer that kind of help and it renders small businesses to content that is full of mistakes or poorly written content. I can also help with business email content, newsletters, blogs, etc. I'll write it or just edit what businesses have. If you know of anyone who'd be interested in my services, just point them to writeonsolutions@gmail.com! That's my business name "Write On Solutions!"

Something to always remember

My step mom has this poem up in her house and I just discovered it. I LOVE it and I think it's something all adults, not just parents, should keep in mind.

"And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord. And great shall be the peace of thy children." 3 Nephi 22:13

If a child lives with criticism,
He learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility,
He learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule,
He learns to be shy.
If a child lives with shame,
He learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with tolerance,
He learns to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement,
He learns confidence.
If a child lives with praise,
He learns to appreciate.
If a child lives with fairness,
He learns justice.
If a child lives with security,
He learns faith.
If a child lives with approval,
He learns to like himself.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship,
He learns to find love in the world.

Two Weeks with Malcom

We've had a great first two weeks with baby Malcom! Today he had his two-week check up and everything looks great; in fact, he put on 13 ounces in 10 days (since the check up four days after he was born)! He's put on almost 1 pound since we left the hospital! The doctor was very impressed.

Malcom has slowly started to figure out that pooping in the middle of the night is not ideal; I really hope that is a trend that keeps up because I don't like getting up to change 3 poopie diapers when I should be snuggled in my bed. And that's in addition to all the feedings. He sleeps in bed with me most of the night because he wants to eat a lot and it's the fastest and best way to put/keep him a asleep. I love my sleep, especially when I'm waking up frequently. In addition to Malcom's wake-ups, Vivi has recently decided she wants to wake up a lot in the middle of the night, too. What the heck? She hasn't done that since she got settled into her new room! Sigh.

Vivi loves to hold baby Malcom. She's really good at giving him kisses and her idea of giving Malcom a 'little hug' is putting her head on his tummy. Vivi is so cute because she also likes holding his hand and sometimes she'll grab his hand and then put her thumb in her mouth and try to snuggle with him. She doesn't call him Malcom, it's always 'baby brother' or 'baby Malcom.' I think I've got her trained to say "Shhhhh, shhhhh, it's ok baby Malcom" whenever he screams/cries, instead of what she used to yell, 'Stop it baby! Stop crying!' In fact, she did that all throughout the grocery store while we were shopping and he was crying. It was really sweet because I didn't even have to remind her not to yell at him :)

Vivi's also very protective of him, including getting up in a girl's face at the park who was trying to lift the blanket on his car seat to see him. She ran over and put her finger in the girls face and said "Don't touch it!! Don't touch it!! He's sleeping!" The girl looked scared...and she should've been; I thought Vivi was going to push or hit her for sure. There have been lots of other times where people will touch his face and she yells "No touch his face!" because that's what we tell her. Or they ask to see him or hold him and she tells them no. Ok, that last one could be out of jealousy sometimes, but sometimes it's her being protective. :)

We love having Malcom in our home. He is such  sweet little baby and really only gets upset when he's hungry or poopie. We love the spirit he brings into our home. He's an amazing boy.

He's Here!!!!

To celebrate Malcom's one week birthday, here's a little birth story.

Off to her 3rd wedding, the Love wedding :)

The night of my last post about Vivienne's amazing flower girl abilities (she completed her third and last wedding this past weekend), I went into labor and just a few hours later, Malcom Douglas Harrington was born! Actually, I'm pretty sure I was contracting as I finished up the post :)

I had my 39 week appointment on Wednesday where my doctor said I was pretty ready (almost 4 cm and 80% effaced, compared to 2 cm the week before, which is a big jump), so she offered to strip my membranes. Wanting to speed up the process because of my great discomfort, I took her up on her offer. While I'd read that some women found the procedure really painful, I found it only as uncomfortable as a regular exam. If it's going to stimulate labor, it will work in about 24-48 hours.

It took me six hours.

I had some cramping that afternoon as we went to the beach and I frantically completed things on my 'to-do' list realizing the baby could be here in the next day (sweeping, mopping, sorting the mail, etc). Around 9pm (while I was blogging), I heard/felt a 'pop' in my pelvis and realized my water had probably broke just a little. By 9:30pm I was contracting every 5 minutes and Doug went upstairs to tell Marie (his grandma whose basement apartment we live in) that we were going to the hospital; by 10pm we were in the hospital.

As the contractions got more painful, I was physically reminded of my birth plan: EPIDURAL. The anesthesiologist came and I had to sit up while I poked and prodded my back. He also made conversation, including asking me if my hair had red in it. I thought he was just quirky, but he explained the chemistry behind the fact that red-heads usually require a higher dosage of drugs (I don't remember exactly why). I thought that was interesting.

Until it turned out that my hair must have more red in it than we thought.

The first epidural just wasn't working. The pain was lessened, but definitely still there. The doctor stuck around to make sure it was working, so when it was obvious I was still in pain, he said, "You know, your just feeling more than I would like, so let's do this again."

Funny, I was thinking the same thing. So, we did it all again and this time it worked! I love me a good epidural. I was still able to feel and slightly move my legs, but no pain. Yay! The nurses encouraged me to take a nap, which I did for about a 45 minutes until they came to check on me. They asked me to roll over and, as I did, my water totally broke (I felt a bigger pop in my belly, but nothing more because of the epidural) and the nurses had a little mess to clean up. Right after that they checked me and said, "Oh, it's time to push!"

Very quickly my bed and room was reorganized and new equipment brought in for the baby. It was weird going from sleeping to pushing in about 5 minutes. I only had to push for about 10-15 minutes and, apparently, the baby kept coming even when I wasn't pushing or contracting. He was so eager he 'oozed' out (that was the doctor's word); ok, that's a little gross, but I guess that's how eager Malcom was to come out! Doug moved down there in time to 'catch' Malcom and also cut the cord before putting him on my chest.

It was love at first sight. Malcom has an amazing head of hair, not unlike his sisters, except his is thicker, darker and lays flat (hers was all over the place). He also has the family cheeks (big). He looks just like Doug. He was 8 lb, 7 oz and 19 inches long (Vivi was 7 lb,8 oz and 19.5 inches).

Doug went home in the morning to bring Vivienne to the hospital and the first meeting between these two siblings was so sweet. She was timid as she first walked into the room wearing her 'Big Sister' t-shirt that I bought just for this occasion. She looked at my belly looking for baby brother and so I pointed to the bassinet where he was sleeping (a conscious decision so I could give her a hug if she wanted it, which she didn't because she was so preoccupied with the baby). Doug took Malcom out of the bassinet and asked Vivi if she wanted to kiss the baby. She said 'No, papa kiss it,' just so she would know it was ok. After Doug kissed him, then Vivi felt comfortable enough giving him a kiss.

Soon after, Vivi wanted to hold him. At first she was very good at listening to our instructions on how to be soft, but as she got more comfortable and excited about it (and closer to nap time), we found ourselves playing a lot of defense as she tried to point to his eyes and pat the top of his head. She heard a lot of 'No!!' which I think just frustrated her (and us) by the end of the visit. Luckily, we had more visitors to keep her distracted and help out.

This labor was shorter and easier than with Vivi and the recovery has been, too. Well, with one exception. I fought a fever for most of the weekend. Running hot and cold was pretty miserable, but other than I'm feeling really good (besides the usual tired stuff). My back was sore because of the epidural, but I had no tearing down there and everything went really smoothly. Plus, it produced an absolute angel of a baby, which makes it all worth it.

I love our growing family. Here's our first family picture just before we left the hospital.

Flower Power

We've had a busy summer and no one has been more in-demand that my little Vivi! Her unknown flower girls skills have been tested twice so far this summer and we've got one more wedding to go! She keeps getting better and better, but no one knows that except me. The only thing people can say is, "She's soooo cute!" And it's true.

Here she is posing for Nana Anne before Stefanie and Joe's wedding.

 Almost a smile! She's wearing my mom's clip on earrings. No, she didn't wear them during the wedding.

 She made it down the aisle, didn't cry or refuse or anything! She did trip up the step to the stage and then fall down it on the way out (it was a big step and her dress is pretty long). But, she just continued on like a champ! It was a beautiful outdoor wedding in a vineyard.

The ceremony was short, but the day was long. The bridesmaids bribed her with Skittles I gave them to keep her happy and up on the stage...

The Hard Part

Today I realized (one of) the hardest parts about being a mom: you can't quit. You don't get to just walk out and take a break. The 'boss' that won't get off your back is a two year old and you can't just walk away from them. You can do everything in your power to try to make them happy, but at the end of the day, that temperamental little creature will probably still try to smack you in the face and you can't hit them back.

If this were a 'regular' job, today I would've demanded a raise, taken a mental health day, and/or quit. Instead, I had to clean up several messes, make several messes to be cleaned up tomorrow (because I'm not doing it tonight), make dinner, give her a shower that she refused to take, and put her in 4 'bummers' (timeouts) in 20 minutes for things like dumping her milk on the floor, hitting me, putting the hot pads in the garbage after I told her not to, etc.

At one point I sat in the bathroom with my swollen hands and feet, silently cursed the fact that I hate moving because of my huge 8 month pregnancy belly, can't deal with being a mom anymore, and gave up. I jealously thought of how my husband gets to leave every day to a job where he helps people...and gets paid to do it. I emotionally quit. I started yelling at her, threatening her with spankings and bed time, and cried. Mercifully, bedtime went relatively smoothly, but I am exhausted.

I know all moms think this stuff and have their days. I think today was so hard because I've had a lot of searing back pain, a SUPER long weekend (weddings, Seattle to Portland bike ride, driving about 400 miles, etc), and a very tired/opinionated two year old who broke eggs in the grocery store, then started hitting me, won't listen to me worth crap, and won't go play by herself and give me a frickin break. I just want to nest for the new baby in peace and all I managed to do today was go grocery shopping, clean the kitchen up in time to get it dirty for dinner, and start on organizing Doug's shoes (totally different story).

Finally, after she went to bed, I sat down and read my scriptures and this verse stuck out to me: "And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him." (Luke 22:43). I know the Lord loves me and will strengthen me. And I really hope he sends me an angel...I could use it.

Have Two Year Old, Will Travel...?!

We've been on vacation for the last few days. Of course a road trip is full of stops and go's. We had our share of standard meltdowns because she wanted to get out of the car, needed a nap, etc. We've also had a lot of fun pit stops, including a couple family reunions, trips to the LDS temples down here in Utah, lots of swimming, trip to the zoo, a horse-drawn carriage ride, and more.

However, we've also had some SERIOUS button pushing going on. For example, why would my daughter decide to put her chewed up food in my ear at dinner one evening?! I bent her over and spanked her butt right in front of the waitress (that was after not listening, running around, and other 'bad' behavior). Oh, and the time she threw my shoes and my towel (on two different occasions) in the pool even though I saw her walking toward the pool with them and told her the whole way to stop and not to throw them in. That earned her a 'bummer' (timeout) right there at the pool. Then there's the issue of getting her to hold our hand in the parking lot/crossing the street. Oh, and all the pinching and hitting that mostly seems to come my way...even though I 'bummer' her on it all the time.

I know it's part of her job description to throw fits and for the most part I just let her throw herself on the ground and don't give her a big reaction. But why do it when all we're trying to do is get on the elevator? She's making everyone wait and then when I try to get her, she runs away and we miss our ride to the lobby. I'm not exactly in the best shape to be chasing.

Did I mention she doesn't listen at all? I understand that's part of the two year old deal, but it really bothers me when she won't even listen when it comes to dangerous stuff like running into the parking lot or playing with outlets. How am I supposed to teach this girl without letting her get hit by a car (going very slowly) or electrocuted (haven't figured out how to make that one 'less' dangerous)? I know there's a way because many two year olds have graduated on to become three year olds and even happy four year olds. Ideas?

To me, the key is her putting the chewed-up food in my ear: it's about pushing boundaries, discovering what's acceptable and what's not. BUT. Come one. In my ear? Is it because we're traveling? Is it the sunshine and heat that she's never experienced before? Oy vey.